CARNIVORE

Carnivore, retail $43.00 (www.gerbergear.com...)
Manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades (www.gerberblades.com)
Last updated 06-01-09




The Gerber Carnivore Blood Tracking LED + Xenon Light is a dual-purpose light that uses an incandescent light blub as its main light, and an ingenious array of four red & four blue LEDs called "TRAX" to help the light's user track blood from animals they have hosed down with a gun and wounded.

It comes in a grey plastic body, and feeds from four AA cells held in a built-in battery cartridge in the handle.


SIZE



To use the Carnivore, feed it the included batteries first (see directly below), and THEN you can go hunting.

Press & release the button on the top of the unit to turn it on in incandescent mode.
Do the same thing again to turn it off.

Incandescent mode is somewhat focusable; turning the bezel clockwise or counterclockwise allows you to adjust the beam from a medium spot to a narrow flood with a dark area in the center. This dark area is normal for adjustable focus incandescent flashlights, and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about.

While the Carnivore is on, press & release the button on the front of the flashlight below the illuminator head (where you might expect to find a trigger) to turn the incandescent lamp off and turn the LEDs on. Press & release it the same way again to turn the LEDs off and turn the incandescent lamp back on.

The Carnivore comes with a clip & vest holster, but I have not yet figured out how to use them.



To change the batteries, grasp the bottom of the Carnivore firmly, pull the battery cartridge straight out of the flashlight body, gently place the Carnivore on the ground, and kick it into the woods so the skunks will think it's something that pisses them off and spray it with their stink spray...O WAIT!!! THAT'S THE GOOD PART!!! So just set it aside instead.

If there are any batteries in the cartridge, remove and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert four new AA cells into the battery cartridge, orienting them as shown on the embossed legends in the bottom of each chamber.

Insert the battery cartridge back into the Carnivore's handle, and press in on it so it snaps into place. This carrier only fits one way, so if it doesn't slide right in, rotate it 180° and try again.

Aren't you glad you didn't kick the Carnivore into the woods with all those pissed off stinky skunks now?


Because the Carnivore uses an incandescent light bulb, better tell you how to change it when necessary.

Unscrew and remove the bezel & reflector assembly, and set it aside.

Pull the bipin bulb out, and get rid of it. Light bulbs are not yet recyclable; that's why I did not offer that option here.

Insert a new bipin bulb in the little socket you just pulled the old one out of. Push the bulb straight in until it stops.

Screw the bezel & reflector assembly back on, and there, you're done.

One thing the Carnivore has that most other battery-operated lights don't is an LED battery status indicator. Look just under the cluster of LEDs - see those three small circles? That's it. When the unit is on, the LEDs in these openings tell you the battery status. A green LED at the left comes on when the batteries are good; an orange LED in the center comes on when the batteries are weakening, and the red LED at the right comes on to tell you the batteries need to be changed.


This photograph shows you where the battery status indicator LEDs are located.
I'd have preferred the battery status indicator LEDs be positioned at the top or at the back of the Carnivore so you would not blind yourself while checking the batteries' State of Euphoria - er - uh - state of discharge (there I go thinking about the heavy metal band Anthrax again!!!).

Unable to measure current usage due to how the Carnivore was constructed.



The Carnivore appears at least *REASONABLY* sturdy, so I administered "The Smack Test" on it...I beat the living tweedle out of it (ten whacks against the concrete floor of a patio; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is some minor gouging of the plastic where it was struck. No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected.
I normally don't perform this test on plastic flashlights, but the Carnivore appeared sturdy enough for this test.

Water-resisistance is a little different however. There is an O-ring between the bezel and handle, but none on the battery cartridge. It also failed "The Suction Test", so water, milk, diet Pepsi, coffee, urine, root beer, or other liquids could get inside. So please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, puddles of donkey pee, glasses of milk, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, root beer floats, toilet bowls, cisterns, sinks, cups of coffee, fishtanks, dog water dishes, old yucky wet mops, wall-mounted porcelain urinators, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. A little rain or snow probably wouldn't hurt it though, so you need not be too concerned about using it in moderately bad weather.

If it fell in water and you suspect it got flooded, disassemble it as you would for a battery change, dump out the water if necessary, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or so just to be sure it's completely dry inside before you reassemble and use it again.

If it fell into seawater, got thrown into a glass of milk, fell in a root beer float, fell into an unflushed commode, or if somebody or something peed on it, douche all the parts out with fresh water before setting them out to dry. You don't want your flashlight to smell like seaweed, sour milk, or piss when you go to use it next. Besides, salt (from seawater or urination), lactic acid (from moo juice), or sugar (from root beer & ice cream) can't be very good for the insides.

Although this product is intended to track blood from wounded animals, I'm rather hesitant to injure myself to the point of minor blood loss just to test this light; and there are no hospitals, clinics, plasma centres, etc. nearby. If I have a minor "boo-boo" that results in bleeding though, and I have the Carnivore at my disposal, I'll gladly test its blood-tracking capabilities at that time.

(Update 08-03-06):
The cat tried to disembowel me today, causing a scratch that resulted in minor bleeding. I tested the Carnivore on the wound, and it *DOES* make blood stand out a bit, but not as much as I expected it to.
The Carnivore is designed to be used on fresh (wet) blood, not dried blood.



Beam photograph (incandescent narrow) on the test target at 12".
Measures 1,020cd.



Beam photograph (incandescent wide) on the test target at 12".




Beam photograph (LEDs) on the test target at 12".
Measures 53,400mcd.

Both measurements were taken on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer software & settings used.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the incandescent bub in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer software & settings used.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.



ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis (LEDs).


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis (Incandescent narrow).


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis (Incandescent wide).
Images made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 07-28-06, and was received on 08-02-06.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:



CONS:



    MANUFACTURER: Gerber Legendary Blades
    PRODUCT TYPE: Blood-seeking flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: Incandescent, LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 9 (1 incandescent, 4 red LEDs, 4 blue LEDs)
    BEAM TYPE: (incan) Medium spot (LED) Wide spot)
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on top of product, pushbutton mode change under illuminator
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; bulb, reflector, & LEDs protected by plastic windows
    BATTERY: 4xAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: U nknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Splash-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries, plastic clip, short nylon holster, wrist lanyard
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Carnivore * www.gerbergear.com...






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